The ups and downs of living with Howl
by MoonSerenade
Summary: Set after the movie. Love, fighting, fire demons in selfpity and a boy-not-yet-a-man about to take over the world. What more could you wish for in a story?
1. Endless snogging and Lucifer the demon

**The ups and downs of living with Howl**

**by MoonSerenade**

Happily ever after was the stuff of fairytales - that much was obvious. Surely in the fairytales, the heroine wouldn't be faced with her home (which happened to be a castle) having turned into a pigsty after only being gone for a couple of hours to visit her sister and _then_ being expected to be the one to clean it up again. On top of everything, the house had been spotless only this morning.

Sophie Hatter took in the mess before her, calmly placed her hat and shawl on a chair, tucked a few stray strands of silver colored hair behind her ear and straightened her back.

Calcifer, the fire demon residing _out of free will_ in the hearth, quickly scrambled down underneath a log and braced himself. He knew what was about to come and he was not wrong.

"Howl, you pathetic excuse for a wizard; you lazy, vain, good-for-nothing, goddamn bastard, get your overly bathed ass down here at once!"

The shriek came close to rattling windows.

Upstairs, the door in the far end of the hallway opened slowly and hesitant footsteps could be heard walking towards the staircase. Then a pair of shiny black boots came into view on the first step, soon followed by a pair of legs clad in black pants and the hem of a silk robe in brilliant gold and red. The person wearing these clothes had jet black hair and very handsome features. He also had the most beautiful blue eyes you could imagine but right now they were tightly shut and the man wore the expression of someone heading for his execution.

He walked down the stairs, carefully avoiding the large piles of books on the floor, pieces of food that had probably been part of the lunch meal, some potions ingredients and equipment and a huge stack of robes in similar fashion to the one he was wearing.

He came to a halt in front of Sophie, his eyes opening.

"Uh, hi Sophie, dearest. Um... How was your sister?"

In a second, her hand had grabbed the collar of his robe and pulled him down until they came face to face; his terrified blue eyes meeting hers enraged brown ones.

"The castle was clean and shining when I left this morning," she hissed. "How, in the name of everything magical, did you succeed in turning it into a complete _dump_ in only four hours?"

He swallowed visibly and decided to at least _try_ to explain.

"Uh, you see; I was looking for a potion in my books – a very important one I may add – and then I had to try and make it of course and thus all the ingredients and equipment and the table didn't have enough space so I kinda used the floor… And then I made some lunch for Markl, the Witch, Heen and I and I must have done something wrong with it because it tasted horrible and so Markl and I had a little food war because obviously the food had to come to _some_ use… I meant to clean it up before you got home! But then I kind of forgot it when I realized that most of my robes were dirty and I was about to wash them just now when…"

Throughout the explanation, her eyebrows rose higher and higher on her forehead, her mouth turned into a thin, white line and the look in her eyes spoke clearly of the pain that he was about to endure.

Howl flinched and closed his eyes again, awaiting the inevitable. When nothing happened, he felt it safe to take a quick peak at her and was completely caught off guard when he saw she had her face buried in her hands and that her shoulders were shaking. Was she crying?

He suddenly felt ashamed with himself. He hadn't meant to make her cry with his thoughtlessness.

"Sophie, I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking and I…" For the second time, he cut himself off.

Because when Sophie lowered her hands, he realized she wasn't crying. She was laughing.

He stared dumbfounded at her while she desperately tried to draw a proper breath and at the same time wipe away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. At last, she managed to get a little air back into her lungs and, still chuckling, threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Howl! I really, really love you!"

Howl shared a surprised look with Calcifer, who had crept out from underneath his log when Sophie started laughing, and hesitantly patted her back.

"Uh… I love you, too, Sophie. Are you… not angry with me?"

She smiled and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I will be if you don't clean up the mess in this instant."

Anything to avoid another angry outburst, Howl swept out with his hand towards the various objects scattered across the floor. Within a few seconds, the ingredients and equipments had found their way back into cupboards and drawers, the books put themselves back in the shelf, the leftovers drifted off into the trashcan and the robes floated back up to Howl's room for later washing.

"Just out of curiosity," Sophie said when he was done. "Why didn't you do that to begin with when it only took you a couple of seconds?"

Howl opened his mouth to answer, frowned and then closed it again.

"You know, I really have no idea. I guess I didn't think about it."

Sophie laughed again and pulled him close for another kiss, successfully making Calcifer return to his hiding place under the log, silently muttering:

"All this endless snogging! It's so gross…"

* * *

At that exact time, somewhere in the endless fogs of the Waste, a man (more of a boy actually) came to a breathtaking conclusion. This world was supposed to be _his_! _He_ was supposed to conquer it!

Now, don't ask me how he figured that out. It might have something to do with the fact that he had recently graduated from the Royal Sorcery Academy with top grades and the headmaster's voice still echoing in his head, telling him that he was made for great things with talent like his, or maybe the unbelievably large amount of alcohol he had just devoured were to blame.

Either way, in this moment everything became crystal-clear to him. Or at least a little less foggy. A White wizard, a good wizard, would never get anywhere with his life. Dark powers were required if you wanted to achieve greatness and the only way to get your hands on some dark powers were to join forces with a demon. So all he had to do was to conjure up a demon with devastating powers, merge with it, train to handle all the new power he would get, eventually kill all great wizards in the world so that no one stood in his way, challenge Suliman and then the world would be his. Piece of cake!

He stumbled to his feet, tripped over the chair he had been sitting on and accidentally sent several empty bottles crashing to the floor at the same time as a throbbing pain exploded in his foot, limped over to the bookshelf, pulled out a book titled "Evil demons and how to conjure them" and tried to read the table of contents through bloodshot eyes.

One name immediately caught his eye. Listed beneath "Evil demons with powers greater than you or anyone else can imagine so please don't conjure one of these for the sake of mankind" was among others the name Lucifer.

He vaguely remembered that was the name of a god of evil and were supposed to be the ruler of evil demons. Therefore, Lucifer just _had to be_ the most powerful.

The boy-not-yet-a-man uttered a horrible _MWOHAHAHAHAHAHA_ with the deepest and most evil voice he could manage but only succeeded in sounding like a dying witch with tummy ache. Not wanting to admit failure, the boy snapped his mouth shut and quickly turned the pages to the chapter about Lucifer, grateful no one were there to see the blush on his cheeks.

For a spell to conjure up a demon, these instructions sure seemed strange. He would have expected something along the lines of sacrifices or bloodshed when conjuring the most evil demon of them all, but this…

Oh, well. If this was what he had to do, he would do it like a man. First, he went down into the basement to search through his late mother's old belongings. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for. Next, he rushed out into the lovely garden in front of his house and fetched another thing he would need. Lastly, he searched through his records until he found the CD he was looking for, naturally lying in the bottom since he would never listen to this under normal circumstances. He hurried to get everything ready and at last he could begin.

Taking a deep breath, the boy-not-yet-a-man summoned every last bit of power he had and unleashed it in a single soundless cry calling out to the demon he had chosen. For a second, everything remained quiet and he felt his insides turn to ice. Had he failed? Despite the headmaster's praise of his talent, had his powers proved to be too weak? But then the ground beneath his feet started to shake and he was momentarily blinded by a white light. When he was able to open his eyes again, he couldn't believe what he saw. Before him, clad entirely in deep red, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

The demon studied the room with a curious gleam in her dark green eyes. She raised a hand to her brown hair to make sure it lay as it should and straightened the red dress that left very little to imagination. At last, she turned her eyes to the wizard who had conjured her and immediately started laughing.

"It was centuries ago someone conjured me!" She managed to choke out between silvery giggles. "I had forgotten the hilarious instructions!"

Meanwhile, the boy-not-yet-a-man was not amused. Sadly to say, this time someone was actually there to _see _the blush on his cheeks. He had found the instructions odd, but eager to conjure the demon he had followed them well. He was indeed wearing a flowery summer dress (once his mother's), held a bouquet of beautiful flowers in his hand (freshly picked from the garden) and Celine Dion's _Have you ever been in love_ played in the background (how could anyone listen to such horrible music?).

He hurried to get out of the dress, dropped the bouquet in the trashcan and turned off the stereo. Then he turned to the demon and said with as much dignity he could muster:

"I'm going to take over the world. Will you help me?"

A wicked smile appeared on her full lips. She leaned forward, her hot breath mingling with his.

"You mean you will give me your heart?"

Any normal person with the slightest bit of brain and at least _some _idea of what it actually meant to make a pact with a demon, would here answer: "No, I'm sorry to have bothered you, good day" and send the demon back within a blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, this boy-not-yet-a-man wasn't as bright as someone with his high grades should be. He might know a lot about magic but pacts with demons were something they refused to teach about at the Royal Sorcery Academy in case the students would get any ideas.

Being as inexperienced as he was, the boy-not-yet-a-man eagerly nodded.

"Well then," the beautiful woman smiled. "This is what you have to do…"

* * *

Chaos. No better word could describe the ongoing event at Howl's castle. Sadly to say, chaos often raged in the castle and any lesser being would probably have killed itself months ago. But not this fire demon! This demon could put up with _anything_! Though, a window-shattering screaming match accompanied by Heen's out of breath barking, the Witch's low cackling and Markl's happy humming was pushing it…

Calcifer didn't even know what they were arguing about this time and frankly, he couldn't care less. Nowadays, Howl and Sophie always seemed to argue. The odd part was that somewhere in the middle of it, when you began to fear they would kill each other, they suddenly started kissing instead with big smiles on their lips. Maybe it was some kind of game…? Humans sure could be strange sometimes.

Obviously the Witch and Markl had learned to ignore them and go about their business, merely bending their heads to the side if something happened to come flying through the air intended to hit Howl. No flying objects ever reached its target, though. Howl was after all one of the most gifted wizards in the world. He knew full well how to put up a protecting shield, making the objects simply bounce off it. Sophie knew this of course but she seemed to enjoy the throwing either way. Perhaps she hoped to catch him off guard one day.

Calcifer cried out with surprise as a glass full of water smashed into the wall above him, making water droplets rain down on him in the hearth.

"Hey, people! Fire demon! _Fire _demon! Water could kill me!"

Neither Howl nor Sophie paid him any attention. Calcifer sighed tiredly.

"Honestly, it's like having a freaking world war in your own living room…"

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Hope you liked the story a little bit at least. It was something I just started writing one day when I was bored and it kinda grew on me. Don't really know where I'll go with this but decided to give it a shot and find out along the way. Please R & R! Oh, and by the way: I do NOT dislike Celine Dion. Actually I like her a lot. The opinion about her music expressed in this story is that of the boy and not me. Thanks, love you all!


	2. Winnie the Pooh songs and Evil plans

**Chapter 2**

The rain had been pouring down for days. It rattled against the roof, hard drops sounding more like bullets rather than the usual soft sizzling. This was pretty common for the Wastes but oddly enough, it was raining just as hard in every other town connected to the enchanted castle.

The Howl household was bored beyond boredom. All interesting books had been read, all games had been played and thankfully (for the Witch, Markl, Heen and Calcifer) even arguing and tossing things became dull after a while.

They were all gathered in the living room, slouched down in sofas and chairs. Sophie was trying to read her favorite book again, Howl lazily drew up different small spells which he sneakily (making sure Sophie wasn't watching) sent away towards Heen and grinned with pleasure every time the dog winched and glared at him, the Witch was knitting, Markl was eating, Heen was trying to sleep but without success thanks to Howl, and Calcifer was singing.

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing_," Calcifer sang, watching the rain trickling down the window in a steady stream.

Don't ask me why he was singing one of the songs from Winnie the Pooh. Perhaps he just liked that episode with the great flood. It was certainly quite appropriate right now. Although, there was no pig in the room sailing around on a chair while bailing, of course.

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing_," Calcifer continued, not remembering the rest of the song so just settling for singing the same part over and over again. "_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing. And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was_…"

"Calcifer, for crying out loud!" Howl roared at last.

"…_sailing_," Calcifer finished.

Howl glared at him, warning him without words that it would be in his best interest not to continue. Well, who ever heard of a fire demon able to take a hint?

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing_…"

"That's it!" Howl said and got to his feet, marching towards Calcifer. "You're a dead fire demon!"

Calcifer crackled evilly, delighted someone wanted to play with him at last.

"You have to catch me first!"

And just as Howl was about to grab him in the hearth, Calcifer disappeared. Howl stared in confusion for a few seconds until he heard that unmistakable and very annoying song drifting down the stairs from the second floor.

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing_! Come and get me, Howl! I'm in the master bedroom!"

Howl stalked up the stairs, finding the fire demon waiting for him in the hearth in his and Sophie's bedroom. He lunged for the evil little fire but once again he was a second too late.

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing!_ I'm in the bathroom now, Howl!"

Howl screamed with anger and ran down the corridor to the bathroom, but was yet again tricked by Calcifer.

"Haha, you won't ever catch me! _And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing!_"

* * *

Downstairs, Sophie put down her book with an aggravated sigh. It was impossible to read in all this noise!

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing! _Try Markl's room!"

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing! _No, sorry, missed me! Check the kitchen!"

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. _

_Click. Click. Click,_ down the stairs.

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started bailing. He was unaware atop his chair while bailing he was sailing!_ You're too slow! I'm already in the Witch's room!"

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

"_And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down so Piglet started_…"

"I give up!" Howl screamed, stomped back to the living room, face dark with anger, and threw himself down beside Sophie on the sofa. "Tell me again why it was such a good idea to connect all the hearths in the castle to one another?"

"Because," Sophie said with an affectionate smile and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "it keeps every room in the castle warm all year and not just the kitchen where Calcifer used to reside before."

"Oh right."

Forgetting all about the irritating, soon-to-be-dead fire demon, Howl pulled his wife close and kissed her on the lips. She smiled and returned the kiss, both of them soon caught up in the moment. A faint _pop_ told of Calcifer's return to the living room hearth.

"And there they go again! Just when things start to get interesting, they start kissing! I mean, what's so fun about it anyway? Exchanging saliva sounds pretty gross to me. If that was me, I would've…"

"Calcifer?" Sophie mumbled, interrupting his rant. "Shut up for once in your life, will you?"

* * *

It began with a few dark clouds, gathering above the little house, flashing with lighting and rumbling with thunder. Then it was the rain. For a few days, the rain seemed to be concentrated over a single patch in the Wastes, which so happened to be the patch on which that little house stood. And lastly it was the darkness. Morning never came to that house, daylight couldn't penetrate the clouds. It was always dark, always night and should you have been close to the house, you would have noticed the uneasy feeling that hung thick in the air. It wasn't natural. Evil itself appeared to have taken possession over the house.

Within a week, the everlasting rain had spread across the entire Wastes and, another week later, over the entire country. Rainy season, people called it. It was autumn after all. Why shouldn't it be raining? But had it ever rained like this, they wondered. Had it ever rained for days and days without end or dry? Not that anyone could remember, but surely there was some perfectly simple explanation. Perhaps it was getting colder over the years?

The inhabitants in the country didn't see any reason to panic just yet. That is to say, the inhabitants without magical gifts. Every wizard, witch or charmer were ever on the edge, ready to strike back should anything happen. They were worried, far more worried than they had been during the war two years ago. At that time, they had been able to see their enemy and to strike back. Everyone knew the _reason_ for that war, even if the major part of the population had nothing to do with the disappearance of the prince from the neighbor country. But here they could find no source and no reason, and to battle what you cannot see is frightening indeed.

Something was happening. Something was on the verge of going completely wrong and without a clue of what it was or who it was that was doing it; the magicians could do nothing but wait.

* * *

It wasn't often that the King of Ingary allowed an audience this late at night. He would usually be in his private quarters, having a quiet dinner with his beautiful wife and play a little with their six months old baby daughter. But the young man outside the palace doors had been quite persistent and in the end, the King had relented.

Now here they were, alone in the King's study, facing each other across the King's heavy mahogany desk. The young man was handsome, well clad and full of confidence. That much was obvious from the smug smile grazing his lips.

"So, how can I be of service?" The King asked at last, a bit nervous by the man's smile and silence.

"These wizards and magicians; quite dangerous aren't they?" The young man said, still smiling.

The King was confused. Had he come here only to have a little friendly chat? He decided to take the stranger's words serious and play along for now.

"I suppose they are, yes, should they ever be allowed to roam free without having to obey my orders," the King agreed.

"Aren't you afraid they will break free of you one day? With all those endless powers and skills, what stops them from overthrowing you and rule Ingary themselves?"

The King gave a hearty laugh.

"They wouldn't dare!" He chuckled. "Whatever powers or skills they possess, they are still far lesser in numbers than the rest of Ingary's population. The people would object and rise up to fight them back!"

"Would they?" The young man whispered softly. "People are easily persuaded. The wizards would only have to promise them riches, power and all else men crave and soon no one would have anything to object about. People are selfish, your majesty. They do not risk their lives for any monarchy. Surely you are not naïve enough to believe they do? They fight for themselves, for their hopes and dreams. Should their own self-interest not be served, they accomplish nothing. Deep down, they all wish they could get what they wanted and give nothing in return. That's the simple truth and that is also common knowledge. Should the wizards ever think of using that to their advantage, your monarchy will fall."

"Why do you tell me this?" The King asked, eyes narrowing. "Are you one of those wizards you talk about, planning to use my own people against me in the fashion you described?"

The young man's smile widened.

"Most definitely not, your majesty. Should that be my intention, I would have never warned you beforehand. No, I am not a mere wizard. I am much more than that and _that_ is why I'm here. I want to offer you my service in taking care of the wizards once and for all."

"Taking care of? As in kill them?"

"That is correct."

The King rose to his feet, face red with anger.

"This is outrageous! You wish to kill them all, ridding Ingary of their magical powers for good? What do you think our economy is based on? Magic is what sell most; seven-league boots and potions that can turn a fisherman's wind in his favor is what the people wants! Should I be stupid enough to take away what makes me rich? No! I insist that you leave my palace at once!"

The young man stood up, an evil glint in his eyes. He mumbled something under his breath and the King froze, unable to move or even talk. All he could do was watch with terror filled eyes as the man stepped closer to him, all the while smiling that uneasy smile.

"I knew you would say that," the man confessed. "But nonetheless, the wizards are in my way and I want them dead. You're going to help me with that, whether you want to or not."

A blinding light surrounded the man for a moment and when it subsided, suddenly _two_ Kings stood in the room, with no possibility to tell them apart.

"You see, your Madam Sullivan might be able to tell another wizard's disguise apart from a real person, like you for example, but there is no way she will be able to see _I'm _not the real King."

He grinned evilly.

"I'm going to take over your entire life. I'll be the one coming home to your wife and daughter tonight. I'll be the one having dinner with them, playing with your precious little doll until it's time for her to go to bed. And first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to kill Madam Sullivan and every other wizard stupid enough to challenge me. Ingary is now in my hands to do with as I please, and _you_ my good sir will disappear forever."

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know! I've been totally hopeless in updating my stories! I had this major writers block all through summer and whenever I tried to write anything it just sounded corny and useless. Quite typical that the block should vanish now that school's started again, huh? Just my luck. But here I am, writing again! I'm trying to update my other stories too but it doesn't go so well. This one was easier. I just have to say, I probably wouldn't have continued this story if it wasn't for the reviews you guys wrote. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all so much you can't even begin imagine it! **

**Thanks to: **stupidxlovesong, Water Fairy a.k.a. Mizu **and **poison blossom**! You guys are the best! Love you all! **


	3. Demons and Sex Talk

Chapter 3 

Sometimes, even before you open your eyes in the morning, you just know something is wrong. Not a sound has disturbed your sleep, yet you know with certainty that something is not as it should be. Sometimes, those feelings turn out to be wrong. And sometimes, it's just the warning you need to escape something threatening your life.

Madam Sullivan was a skilled magician indeed. As the king's personal magician, she should be. Everything known to man about potions, spells and curses, she was a master of. Very little magic could slip by her unnoticed and yet she feared that was exactly what had happened.

The palace positively reeked of it, the dark magic. No one ventured into dark magic nowadays. The only ones able to were wizards and magicians and they all knew what the risks were by doing so and therefore they kept themselves as far away from it as they could.

Dark magic was the work of demons and other creatures residing in the Underworld and for several decades now, Madam Sullivan had not once sensed its presence. Still, there was no question about it. Dark magic had found its way into the palace, swallowed it whole, and that could only mean a demon was behind it all.

You could not get to Madam Sullivan's position by being stupid or reckless, nor disloyal. She had no means of knowing what the demon wanted, but one thing she knew for sure was that it would not like to have competition. Demons always act after a well-planned scheme and in order to get what it wanted, it wouldn't want to have someone standing in its way. That someone was most likely Madam Sullivan, being the king's magician and all, so it would indeed be stupid so stay here much longer.

Without bothering to wait for servants and the sorts, Madam Sullivan got dressed in a matter of seconds, only pausing long enough to grab her magician staff before carefully and silently opening the door out from her private wing. The corridors were deserted, not a soul in sight, and her sense of foreboding increased. Never had she seen the corridors completely without a single servant, not even at night.

She crept down towards the king's quarters, keeping her back against the wall all the way in case someone, or something, would approach. The palace was eerily quiet. Not a creak from the stairs, the slamming of doors or the mumble of voices reached her ears. What was going on here? Were they all dead, or what had happened?

At last she reached the king's quarters, looking left and right before entering.

"Why, Madam Sullivan!" The queen called, delighted. "How nice to see you!"

Madam Sullivan spun around with her heart in her throat; chin dropping when she saw the young queen seated at the table as usual, with her breakfast in front of her. The king, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you well, majesty?" Madam Sullivan asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, of course, Madam. I was just finishing my breakfast. For once, little Almira didn't deprive me of a proper breakfast by wailing endlessly. In fact, she fell asleep just half an hour ago."

A frown of confusion settled on the queen's delicate features.

"I do not mean to be rude, Madam, but I believe this is the first time you have entered our quarters instead of meeting my husband in his study. Is something the matter?"

Madam Sullivan stared at her.

"You mean you can't feel it? Not at all? Not even a slightest bit?"

The queen's frown deepened.

"Feel what, madam?"

Madam Sullivan sighed, silently shaking her head at regular human's inability to feel the presence of magic - be it white or dark. Or maybe the reason the queen hadn't noticed anything amiss was because she had, well, more looks than brains. Not that the king had married her to have deep conversations with. To tell the truth, the king wasn't all that intelligent himself. Just consider the fact that he found war to be the only solution when the neighboring kingdom accused Ingary of kidnapping their prince, and then, on top of it, actually enjoying the war even though thousands of people were killed! Glory and all that rubbish seemed to have gotten to the king's head after listening to and studying old war stories growing up.

"Nothing, majesty. Nothing is the matter. I only came here in search of the king. Would you know where he has gone?"

"His study, I imagine. Is that not where he usually goes in the mornings? He's probably awaiting you right now, Madam."

"Yes," Madam Sullivan mumbled to herself, silently enough so the queen couldn't hear. "But is he alone in there or not?"

She went back out into the corridors, looking towards the stairwells leading down to the second floor, on which the king had his study. She weighted her options, deciding between leaving the palace at once or to try the king's study to see if he was there. She wasn't entirely sure she would be able to handle a demon, should it be waiting for her in the study, but the overwhelming need to see what she was up against before fleeing the palace was too strong to resist. She needed to know what she was battling in order to know what to use against it.

She quietly descended the stairs, still not finding a living soul – or a dead one, for that matter. Yet they had to be here somewhere. Who else had brought the queen her breakfast?

Even before turning the door handle to the king's study, Madam Sullivan knew the demon was inside. The dark magic was so strong it almost made her dizzy. Without showing any hesitation or fear, Madam Sullivan entered the study, head held high and staff at the ready.

A man stood at the window, looking out on the rain trickling down the glass in an endless stream. Slowly, he turned around and once again Madam Sullivan felt like gaping in shock. Before her stood the king, every detail just right, and not the smallest clue showing this wasn't the real king. If it weren't for the black cloud of dark magic surrounding him, revealing his true identity, she would have never known it was a demon. Never before had she seen such a perfect disguise and all at once, she came to realize just how powerful this demon was. She wasn't even sure _she_ could have disguised herself so well.

"Madam Sullivan," the impostor said. "Just the one I wanted to see."

"I have no patience for games, demon. Tell me what you want. What have you done with the king? What are your intentions for acting in this manner?"

The impostor smiled, an unnerving, calm smile that sent shivers down her back.

"Ah, right to the core of the matter at once, Madam. You surprise me. I would have thought you would lure the answers to your questions out of me rather than cutting to the chase immediately."

Madam Sullivan gave a wry smile in return.

"I suspected you were too clever to fall for that, so why even bother?" She said.

The imposter nodded.

"I believe you are right, Madam. Since that was what I expected, I wouldn't have let my guard down. However, I don't see the meaning of telling you of my plans. The king has already been taken care of and you're next, so if you wouldn't mind, I'd rather we stopped talking and moved straight to the killing."

"In fact, demon, I would mind. I insist upon you telling me your plans and what you have done with the king. It would be foolish of you to try and kill me, anyway. I don't hold the position as the king's magician for nothing. I believe you would find it near impossible to take my life."

Still the creepy smile remained, even deepened.

"You are mistaken, Madam. It would all be over in a matter of seconds. Don't try to resist, it's useless anyhow."

And as the demon raised its arm towards her, dark magic beginning to form inside the palm, Madam Sullivan realized it was telling the truth. She had believed it to be smart, expecting it to be one of the lesser demons, strong but still not a problem to defeat. She knew now how wrong she had been. This wasn't any of the lesser demons. This was one of the most dangerous, perhaps even the most dangerous of them all and should it be allowed to wield its magic upon her, she would indeed be dead in only a few seconds.

Panic surging through her body, Madam Sullivan tightened the hold on her staff, closing her eyes and quickly whispering a few words under her breath. She had no particular friends she could go to for protection, but as a blinding light surrounded her and every cell in her body suddenly felt like it was on fire, she repeated only one name in her mind.

Once, she had had a very talented student, one she had been sure would one day assume her position as the king's magician and serve future generations as faithfully and wisely as she had. Those hopes had been thwarted as her student came into contact with a fire demon and gave away his heart in exchange for power. Fortunately enough, a young woman's love helped him be free of the demon and regain his heart and ever since, the pair had lived with the fire demon as well as another bunch of people in a moving castle, if not in tranquility then at least in happiness from what she could gather from Heen's occasional reports.

Right now, that former student was her only hope.

* * *

"_Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Markl! Happy birthday to you!" _

Sophie, Howl, Calcifer and the Witch all cheered happily as Markl blew out the twelve candles adoring the large birthday cake while Heen wheezed excitedly. General fighting broke out as Howl, Calcifer and Markl all tried to grab the first piece, making Sophie scream at them to behave themselves and say that _of course_ Markl should have the first piece since it was his birthday! Howl and Calcifer pouted, but settled for fighting over the next piece instead.

"That's it!" Sophie exclaimed and, out of old habit, picked up the jug of milk to throw at Howl, who just managed to duck in time. "_No_ cake for either of you!"

"No fair!" Calcifer protested, flaming purple in indignation. "I've been waiting a whole week for this cake!"

"If you can't behave, you do not deserve any cake! And _you,_" she continued, turning to Howl with blazing eyes. "Could you _for once_ stop behaving like a child and actually try to be the grown-up your age suggests you should be?!"

Howl looked hurt.

"Are you calling me old, honey bunny?"

"Don't you dare call me honey bunny!"

"I just did."

"Don't!"

He was silent for a moment, desperately trying to keep his mouth shut as to not provoke her wrath but unable to resist disobeying a direct command.

"Honey bunny."

Her eyes were cold as ice as they came to rest upon him.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

Howl's eyes widened and he fell to his knees, grabbing hold of Sophie's skirt and looking up on her with pleading eyes.

"No, please, Sophie! Please don't make me sleep on the couch! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"

"Be strong, sweetie," the Witch said as Sophie began to relent. "Let him stay on the couch and the rest of us might actually get some sleep tonight."

Sophie blushed and Howl jumped to his feet.

"I beg your pardon, we're not _that_ loud!"

Calcifer, the Witch, Markl and Heen all looked at him disbelievingly.

"Um, we are?" Howl asked uncertainly.

"You know, I think the next door _kingdom_ can hear you going on at night," Calcifer drawled.

"Hey, watch what you're saying! There are kids around!" Howl yelled and gestured to Markl.

"Oh, that's okay. I already know you guys have sex," Markl admitted innocently.

Sophie hid her face in her hands, silently contemplating suicide while Howl suddenly turned several interesting shades of pink.

"How…? What…? But-" Howl spluttered. "But Markl, you're only _twelve_! You shouldn't even know what sex _is_!"

"I didn't," Markl said, still completely innocent. "But Calcifer gave me the crash-course, as he called it."

Earlier embarrassment was forgotten as Sophie turned to Calcifer with a fury so great, even the fire demon hid behind the closest log in the hearth. Having seen Sophie in this state before, although never quite this angry, the Witch, Markl and Heen all hurried to cover their ears and shut their eyes, hoping this outburst would be a small one. Howl, on the other hand, was too shocked to realize he would probably not want to hear this in its full volume and therefore was completely knocked off his feet when Sophie began to yell.

It was not entirely possible to hear _exactly_ was she was saying because of how loud she shrieked, but the main thing seemed to be that Sophie found it in no way appropriate that Markl's understanding about sex should come from a, and I quote 'idiotic, tactless, stupid, god damn brainless fire demon!' To which Calcifer replied that he was only trying to help and maybe it could have gone rather well if Markl hadn't interrupted by asking a few questions about the subject that Calcifer hadn't managed to explain very well and at once, Sophie was off again.

And in the middle of this complete mayhem, this chaos, there was suddenly a flash of light and Madam Sullivan appeared right next to Heen, who abandoned covering his ears in favor of greeting his former owner. Sophie, of course, didn't notice their guest as she was still caught up in yelling at Calcifer.

"Madam Sullivan," Howl said with a graceful bow. "What a pleasure of seeing you again! I fear we see each other all too seldom."

"Um, yes, I believe so," Madam Sullivan replied uncertainly, her gaze upon the yelling Sophie and the fire demon trembling under his log in the hearth.

"Pay them no heed, Madam," Howl continued, gesturing towards his wife and friend. "It is something you see rather often in our home."

"How… charming."

"Tea, Madam?" The Witch inquired, already holding a cup in her hand.

"Yes… Yes, thank you."

"Do you want some cake?" Markl said. "We are celebrating my twelfth birthday today and Sophie bought me a cake!"

"How very considerate of her. Does this argument have something to do with that?"

"Oh, no," Markl answered. "You see, Howl and Sophie usually makes quite a noise-"

Howl hastened to put his hand over the child's mouth.

"It's nothing of importance. Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere less… noisy. Shall we move into the living room?"

And with tea and cake in their hands, Howl, Madam Sullivan, the Witch, Markl and Heen left the raging battle behind them to listen to what Madam Sullivan had to tell them.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! Finally, I updated this story. I know it's taken a long, long time and I'm really sorry but you just wouldn't believe the writers block I've had! Again and again, I've sat down in front of the computer preparing to continue writing and I just couldn't think of _anything_. Inspiration slowly starts to return so please excuse if you find this chapter crappy. Anyway, I would be real happy if you would send me a review and tell me what you think of the story so far and if this serious/not so serious plot works. Love you guys, hugs and kisses all around:D**


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